The role of the State

Even though mayors have extensive police powers in the fields of safety and the environment, in application of the General Code of Local Authorities, and in particular are required to intervene to "prevent, by taking suitable precautions, and to put a stop to, by distributing the necessary aid, accidents and calamitous plagues, such as fires, floods, dyke failures", the State plays a central role in the prevention of natural hazards.

In this way, an advisory and technical support body for the prevention of natural hazards has been set up within the Ministry of the Environment to define the research and studies needed in the field of risk prevention, and to promote actions in this area, within the framework of the funds at its disposal.

In addition, the Department for the Prevention of Major Risks, created in 2001, is responsible for "drawing...